Ban on tourism to continue: NCOC

• The ban on tourism will remain in place till further notice, says NCOC.
• Markets to open till 8pm from today, offices to resume normal working hours with 50% capacity.
• Pakistan reports 3,232 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Sunday decided that the ban on tourism in Pakistan will continue till further notice.

The NCOC, in a tweet, stated that the forum will issue necessary instructions accordingly.

Meanwhile, the country reported 3,232 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while the positivity ratio was recorded at 8.80%.

According to the NCOC data, 74 more succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 19,617.

On Saturday, the NCOC had decided to ease lockdown restrictions imposed earlier this month during Eid holidays to control the spread of coronavirus by limiting the people’s movement.

The NCOC announced that public transport — between provinces, cities and within cities — will resume functioning from Sunday instead of the previously announced May 17 date of resumption.

A special session of the body managing the country's coronavirus response was held to review the implementation of standard operating procedures throughout the "stay home, stay safe" May 8-16 period that had been set to curb the spread of the virus.

It was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and co-chaired by National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman Khan.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also participated, while the provincial chief secretaries attended the session through video link.

According to a statement by the NCOC, the forum "expressed satisfaction on compliance" of SOPs during Eid holidays.

"Forum appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders especially the cooperation rendered by public across the country," read the statement.

After the review was conducted, the following decisions were announced:

• All inter-provincial, inter-city and intra-city public transport to resume from May 16 instead of previously given date of May 17. The transport will, however, be operative with 50% occupancy of passengers.
• Railways will maintain its operation with 70% occupancy.
• All markets and shops will remain open till 8pm from May 17 onwards.
• Normal working hours for offices will be resumed from May 17 onwards with the condition of 50% work from home.

According to the statement, a review of the remaining guidelines will be carried out on May 19.

The forum emphasised on the continued monitoring of SOP enforcement and appealed to the public for adherence to these SOPs.

The NCOC also urged the public to ensure registration on 1166 prior to walking in for vaccination.